Remove Cat Urine Odor and Stains from Your Hardwood Floors

My Tried and True Methods for Fixing Your Floors

So we just purchased our first house. Among many of the improvements yet to be made, our number one priority was the stench. What kind of stench? Cat pee. Lots and lots of cat pee. Unfortunately for the sellers, we think they could have banked around $30,000 more if they would have just removed the smell from the home. I can only imagine how many potential buyers didn't make it past the front door do to the unwelcoming odor permeating every inch of the house.

The home was previously owned by an old lady who passed away months before we saw the home for the first time. We were told at one time that there were over 50 cats in that house. I can't imagine what 50 cats would look like, let alone in one home. Yuck. Needless to say, the smell was convincing enough to make anyone believe the 50 cat story. Aside from the smell, the house had tons of charm and just begged to be made over. With a little cash and a lot of prayer, my fiance and I decided we'd be the daring duo to take on the ominous odor.

After countless hours of on-line research, talking to friends who had faced the same thing, and conversing with countless pet store employees, Jarrod (my fiance) and I devised a plan. The origin of the odor was obviously the cat urine. The lady's children had removed the carpet to reveal some potentially (and I do mean potentially) beautiful hardwood floors. Underneath the urine spotted floor we hoped we'd find shining hardwood floors filled with charm and character.

So, if you're looking to tackle some stinky stained hardwood, here's what I tried, what worked, and what didn't.

Nature's Miracle Stain and Odor Remover: The container said that it would remove 100% of the odor if applied correctly. Granted, the gravity of the situation I had to deal with was probably much greater than what the majority of their customers have to deal with. We used about four gallons of the product in total. We poured the gallons into a garden sprayer and bathed every floor in our house with the stuff. We let it sit over night. When I came back the next day, 80% of the smell was gone. That was, in essence, 80% exciting, 20% disappointing. There was still more to be done.